Buzz Break: 2016 Topps Tribute baseball cards

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The box: 2016 Topps Tribute baseball cards
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Packs per box: 6
Cards per pack: 3
Cards in this box: 19
Base set completion: 
11 of 90 (12 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Base cards – Randy Johnson, Eddie Mathews, Larry Doby, Paul Molitor, Cal Ripken Jr., David Ortiz, Chris Sale, Billy Williams, Jacob deGrom, George Brett, Whitey Ford

Insert cards: 2
Rookies (1) – Michael Conforto
Green parallel (1) – Gerrit Cole (/99)

Autographs/Memorabilia: 6
Rightful Recognition Autographs Purple (1) – Frank Thomas (/50)
Tribute Autographs (2) – Hector Olivera (/199), Byung-Ho Park redemption (/TBD)
Tribute Relics (1) – Prince Fielder (/196)
Tribute Relics Green (1) – Jacob deGrom (/99)
Tribute Relics Purple (1) – Paul Goldschmidt (/50)

What’s Buzz-worthy: The look and feel of 2016 Topps Tribute is top-notch with a number of design touches that make this brand stand out even though it hasn’t changed that much compared to past years. It’s a visual stunner. It’s also a product that can leave you stunned if you’re buying by the single pack as three packs will be Relics and three packs in a box will be autographs. At its high-end price, a Relic pack is a tough one to handle. The autograph lineup in this one is very, very deep with the likes of Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, Ichiro Suzuki, Ken Griffey Jr., Sandy Koufax and so much more. This box wasn’t that elite but it did have a Hall of Famer on a parallel that’s one in every 63 packs. Also rare is the Conforto rookie insert — those cards are stated as one in every four boxes per the wrapper odds. That also was an extra card in one of the packs. A pair of cards make this an above average box but the rest (and maybe the overall feel here) show how Tribute is definitely high-risk, high-reward. New touches here like Superfractors have helped this one this year and there are some other autograph sets like the Foundations of Greatness autographs seen in our gallery are also quite strong. They weren’t found here, but they are in there.

Win Our Hits: Keep an eye on the Buzz Twitter contest for giveaways of hits from this and other selected boxes to come … you never know when they might happen.

>> Click here to view the 2016 Topps Tribute baseball checklist.

Product Grade: A
Box Grade: B
Fun Grade: B-

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